By Daniel Nayeri Liz Enright
Be careful what you wish for when a mysterious shop offers you a life where everyone finally notices you—for a terrifying price.
Daniel Nayeri, the award-winning author of Everything Sad Is Untrue, joins artist Liz Enright to launch The Bizarre Bazaar series. In this opening volume, Mirror Town, we meet twelve-year-old Abel Azari, a boy who feels completely invisible to his family and the ‘popular’ kids at school. His luck seems to change when he wanders into a strange shop and finds a mirror that pulls him into a reality where he is finally the center of attention. However, this perfect world is not what it seems, and Abel must uncover its dark secrets to escape being trapped forever. There are currently two books announced in this series, giving students a chance to continue their reading adventure.
This series is a great find for students who find thick novels overwhelming or those who are still building their English skills. Being a graphic novel, the artwork does a lot of the explaining of the story. Liz Enright uses expressive characters and atmospheric colors to show mood and tension, which helps readers follow the plot even if they do not know every word. The sentences are kept short and direct, mimicking how middle-schoolers actually talk. A major plus for the classroom is how the series is structured. Each book starts with the same mysterious shopkeepers acting as narrators, which gives readers a familiar entry point each time they pick up a new volume. This consistency helps youngsters feel more comfortable and ready to tackle the next story because the visual style and setup stay the same. Abel’s experience of feeling “unseen” can be used to lead a class discussion about self-worth and the pressure to be popular.
Total Books in Series: 2 Best Starting Point: Mirror Town
